Russia Needs Immigrants but Lacks a Coherent Immigration Policy

The EditorsTuesday, May 14, 2019

Editor’s Note: This article is part of an ongoing series on immigration and integration policy around the world.

Like many other advanced economies, Russia faces serious demographic challenges in the coming decades. According to government projections, the population is expected to shrink by 2.5 million people by 2035, and the active working-age population will likely decrease by 3.1 million people. Russian federal and state authorities recognize the need to hold these trends in check by keeping the country’s doors open, but immigrants, particularly migrant workers, often have trouble accessing social services and must navigate a complex patchwork of rules and regulations in order to stay in Russia. In an interview with WPR, Vladimir Mukomel, a migration expert at the Russian Academy of Sciences in Moscow, discusses the “dizzying reversals” in Russia’s immigration policy and what officials can do to make the country friendlier to immigrants. ...

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